Fallout: Overthrow
by xWildfireKasukox
Summary: For two years the courier and Boone have been apart. The NCR are hoping to take back New Vegas and the Hoover Dam again from Mr. House. New faces, new faction.
1. As Time Passes

Fallout:

Overthrow

Chapter One:

As Time Passes

Two years ago, a courier rose from the grave and changed the Mojave Wasteland in Nevada. Though she crippled armed forces, the courier was fair and kind-hearted. Through the unforgiving wasteland, she gave people hope by lending a helping hand to whoever she could. She changed lives of many through the Mojave and gave such sadden hearts hope that life can be worth living. The courier, however, made a chilling mistake. Her being naive to the deceitful people of the Mojave caused a drastic change to the New California Republic. She left the Mojave Wasteland, hoping to find a way to change the ruling of New Vegas and help the NCR regain their finances and build their army again.

Though the NCR suffered a serious blow from a heavy mistake, the NCR found the courier innocent of her misfortune with the help of a First Recon soldier. The President of the NCR, Aaron Kimball, removed the courier from their enemy list and hoped to find her since she was the only person that was ever seen entering the Lucky 38 for over two hundred years. The NCR pushed their forces into Utah and Arizona in hopes of recruiting. In Arizona, the NCR came across an independent army that originated in what was known as Luke Air Force Base. They called themselves the Arizona Rangers and were great in numbers. The Arizona Rangers protected the cities of Glendale, Scottsdale and Phoenix. The AR's had even taken control of Flagstaff, which used to be a home to the late Caesar and his torturous Legion army. The AR army had proven themselves to be a great asset to the NCR; however they had not agreed to join forces with the NCR yet but they let the troopers into their land and base.

Two years from climbing the ladder of the NCR, the friend of the courier, a First Recon soldier made his way through the ranks and took the place of the late General Lee Oliver. The NCR troopers respected him greatly for all he has been through in the unfortunate events that happened long ago now in Bitter Springs. President Kimball appreciated the new General much more than that. The former First Recon soldier, not only helped the courier prevent the President's assassination but he also proved to the NCR that the courier was not to blame. The new General assisted President Kimball with many issues that were presented to the NCR; went on missions with his old unit and in his spare time he desperately looked for the courier.

After months of the fall of Caesar, the Legion appointed a new Son of Mars. The new ruler of The Legion was widely known among the warriors for his barbaric battles in the arena that was once held in Flagstaff. The second Legate to Caesar, Lanius, watched over the warrior as though he was a son. Crixus was the name that Lanius had given him a week before he died at the hands of the courier. Crixus was not at the war of the Hoover Dam. He had gone to California to spread word among other Legion that Caesar passed. The Legion, burning with a vision of ancient Romans, rebuilt their empire in the ruins of Tucson, Arizona which was not very far from Luke Air Force Base. There, Crixus was crowned the new Son of Mars and he also taken a Legate named Ilithyia. A woman, who was not treated as a slave but born into The Legion, she was older than the courier that was also born into the Legion. It was rumored that Ilithyia was the daughter to Lanius but there was no proof of such. The Legion only remembered Ilithyia as the woman who greatly envied Sin through cause that everyone had known that Sin was birthed from blood of the first Legate to Caesar, Malpais. Crixus vowed to his Legion that not only would they take New Vegas, but they would take the traitor of the Legion and hang her from the Lucky 38.

During the two years, General Craig Boone had several reporting's of Jacqueline Graham seen around the Wasteland in Mojave and the Sonora Wasteland. It was almost impossible to find her. The First Recon unit investigated areas where there had been sightings but the only thing that was ever found were Legion slavers and empty shells. There were no tracks, no leads, no anything. There had been times when the First Recon unit has found bodies that were not of Legion. It was orders to let General Boone inspect the face of the fallen before burying. None of the dead ever appeared to be Jacqueline. Though the AR had not yet agreed with joining forces with the NCR, they had sent help along with NCR squads. One of them accompanied General Boone's squad. A young man, who dressed in wasteland clothing while he was with the First Recon squad; he also wore a scarf around his neck with the colors of the Arizona flag. Since the young AR had joined their squad, he had actually found tracks of Jacqueline. Unfortunately there were only five or six foot prints and no real direction so far. Though the AR was present at nearly every First Recon scouting, he had shown General Boone that his aim was less than perfect. General Boone accepted the young AR as an apprentice.

The young AR stepped into General Boone's tent. "General."

Boone sighed with annoyance. "Damn it, Grover…" He glared at Grover while setting down his papers. "What?"

Grover knew the glare from his General very well. It was the same glare he had always gotten every time he had missed a target. "We got another shipment in from the AR. Fresh water and food. I signed for it."

Boone stared at him.

Grover started to feel nervous. "And… that's it."

"Get out!" yelled Boone.

Grover held up his hands real quick. "Wait! The shipment contained papers of the courier too." Grover reached behind him, taking a folder out of his bag. "I think we should probably go check Good Springs."

Boone stood, "Good Springs?" He held his hand out for the folders. Grover leaned and handed him the folders. General Boone could remember the last time he was in Good Springs. He had carried Jacqueline there after a deathclaw attack in Sloan. The blood that was on her back was still as clear as day to him. He could almost remember every word that was said in Good Springs.

"Yes sir," said Grover. He folded his arms across his chest. "Maybe we should check it out... From my understanding-"

"I know why," Boone interrupted.

Grover was cautious of saying anything further to his commander. Boone flipped through the folder, looking over the papers. He leaned back in his chair while taking out a small can of snuff. Boone glanced up and still saw Grover standing over his table.

"Why are you still here?" Boone opened the small can.

Grover flinched from his General's bark. "Uh, I'm sorry, sir." The AR walked out of the tent.

Boone wondered if a majority of the AR were as apathetic as Grover; though he knew that Grover probably meant well. Boone slipped a pinch of snuff in his mouth as he browse through the latest news of the courier. A few names he recognized from Good Springs. Sunny Smiles, Trudy, Doctor Mitchell. Out of two years, Boone never thought of checking Good Springs. According to documents recorded by NCR Troopers, there used to be a securitron in Good Springs but as time went on the securitron made a disappearance shortly after the surrender to Mr. House. The documents also contained failed findings of Jacqueline Graham and it also included pictures of the people that were supposedly Jacqueline. Each picture Boone had looked it brought back memories of how convivial he felt; only to find out that each person that he inspected were false. Not to mention the times where he had to check out faces of the dead to make sure none were his friend. For the first few months that really bothered him.

Boone spat into an empty bottle. There was no telling how close they were to finding the courier. President Kimball radioed into General Boone very often to check, discuss arrangements of the AR and to go over finances that the NCR may face in future. On the last page of the documents was a text page of the radio transmission that Mr. House aired every day on the New Vegas radio. Mr. House was also desperately looking for Jacqueline Graham. Thinking about it more and more, how close was the Legion in finding Jacqueline? Boone shivered at the thought of it.

Later in the day, General Boone told a soldier in his squad to keep eye over the tents while he went to Good Springs. Grover followed. Boone didn't mind the company and Grover loved to talk. Grover was probably four years younger than Boone; the General just never thought to ask him. Nor did he ever think to ask if Grover had any family. That was never a concern at the moment for Boone. Grover was a lean young man, his black hair was always kept tightly back in a short tail and it always looked like he needed a shave. The AR presented Grover to the NCR when they had found out that they were trying to track someone. Grover was the best at tracking people and animals. In this case, Boone found fault. There was always fault. It just wasn't fast or good enough for him. Though Grover thought that General Boone was a cold man he always tried to remind himself that there was a lot on Boone's plate. The AR tracker also remembered how appreciative he was with Boone showing him how to aim properly with a rifle. Grover thanked him every time General Boone shown him something.

Grover's mouth twisted in disgust when he heard Boone spit again. Chewing tobacco, that was always a nasty habit to Grover. _How gross. _He thought. It was probably better than whiskey like he had seen in Boone's tent before; empty bottles, of course.

"Have you been to Good Springs before?" asked Grover.

"Once," was the only reply he had gotten from General Boone.

Grover began chattering away again. Boone didn't know what the hell he was going on about. He didn't know what to find in Good Springs. Good news. Anything would be so much helpful to him. The last Boone remembered of Good Springs were the people. They all seemed to admire Jacqueline. The reports reminded him of Victor; the securitron that discovered Jacqueline out of that shallow grave. Boone wondered if Mr. House sent Victor back into Good Springs, for what? He couldn't think of a reason why Mr. House would do that; maybe to mock the town but even the General thought that was low of Mr. House. Boone heard something drop on the ground. He quickly looked back but Grover was already picking up the holotape off the ground.

Grover held out the tape to him, "Slipped out."

Boone took the tape. He looked at it while rubbing the dirt off the tape with his thumb. "Thanks."

Grover walked beside Boone, "What's on that tape anyway?" he asked curiously. "I always see you listening to it." Grover could see that the tape had sentimental value to General Boone.

Boone inhaled deeply and finally slipped the tape back in his pocket, "Words of a friend."

Grover almost didn't let Boone finish his sentence, "Last words?" Here it comes. Like a child trying to find out what they're getting for their birthday. "Who is it? A woman? What does she look like?" Grover paused then with excitement he said; "Jacqueline?"

Boone rolled his eyes. "Mind your tongue," he spat, "if you're that concerned; yes, it _is_ Jacqueline on this tape."

"I knew it!" Grover began asking so many questions now. Boone didn't have time to answer any of them; Grover instead answered most of his own questions. For some reason Grover reminded Boone a lot of Jacqueline; she loved talking too, maybe not as much as Grover. Boone felt so confused about everything. He remembered two years ago how much he wanted everything to end for him. And then he met Jacqueline; a wounded wastelander who cared and nearly changed everyone. Boone never forgot about Carla; though he tried to push the memory out of his mind, he had somewhat let the feeling go when Jacqueline showed him that bad things don't happen to people all the time. The holotape helped Boone get through his toughest memories late at night.

The people of Good Springs hadn't changed. There were always the regulars coming into the Prospector Saloon; Sunny Smiles, Easy Pete, and even that cheap ass Chet who always tried to get a free drink out of Trudy. Sunny Smiles still guarded the town from Geckos but Trudy always thought that Sunny would take off with caravan merchant, Ringo. Ringo occasionally visited Good Springs but everyone knew that he was only coming to see Sunny Smiles. The town didn't give Sunny a hard time about Ringo, they always hoped that she would stay and help which she has so far. Cheyenne barked happily at Sunny Smiles as she punched in a number to a song. The Prospector Saloon no longer cared to hear the New Vegas radio. They certainly did miss that courier.

Ringo was visiting from Utah. He and Sunny sat closely together at the bar, "All quiet around here tonight, huh Trudy?"

Trudy smirked at Ringo, "I'd rather have it that way then that silliness that happened here a couple of years ago."

Sunny Smiles laughed, "At least we're all alright now. None of them powder gangers come to bother us since that happened."

After a laugh, the bar went silent. Trudy wiped down a shot glass and put it on the counter behind her. All of them knew what the silence was for. The sun was just going down and a couple of years ago they had gotten word of a person buried alive in their graveyard. The silence always happened around this time of night. Trudy looked up at the windows outside and saw two shadows pass by.

"Looks like we have some company coming around tonight," Trudy didn't sound excited.

"Try to be a little nicer to strangers, Trudy," Ringo grinned while pulling Sunny closer to him.

The door opened and closed. Around the corner came the AR first and then his General. Trudy stared at the General for a moment as the two both took a seat in their bar. Sunny Smiles glanced over her shoulder at the booth they were sitting in; she looked back at Trudy and shrugged at her. Trudy walked from behind the counter and slowly over to the booth.

"A bit far from home, ain't you boys?" asked Trudy. She gently placed a hand on Boone's uniform, dusting it off a little, "Especially you, an honor to have you in my saloon, General."

Boone looked up to Trudy, "Oh ma'am." He stood before speaking with her, "You don't recognize me?"

Sunny Smiles and Ringo were both turned around now. Having the General so close to them was a bit intimidating. Sunny Smiles gawked at Boone; she stood and whispered into Trudy's ear from behind her. Boone could see Trudy's expression change to happiness.

"Well now I do!" She sat down beside Grover. "You came a long way. I remember you carrying that little bit here from Sloan one day."

It was almost like a reunion in the Prospector Saloon. Trudy, Sunny Smiles and Ringo sat at the booth with Grover and Boone. Trudy asked a lot of questions about New Vegas and Jacqueline. Boone kindly answered the entire query and clarified what really happened at the Hoover Dam to clear up any rumors that Good Springs had about Jacqueline. The folks of Good Springs didn't pass judgment too far on Jacqueline; they knew that something was wrong when it was announced that the NCR surrendered the dam to Mr. House. Trudy also mentioned that after the battle of Hoover Dam was over that Jacqueline dropped in quite often with gifts for the town but they had not seen the courier for quite some time now. Boone sighed heavily at hearing that from Trudy and Sunny Smiles confirming it.

"General Boone," Grover interrupted the conversation. "What about the securitron that was here?"

"That thing. Victor?" Trudy had a true disgust for that securitron since she had known it to be in Good Springs. "Honey, when Jacqueline came back, she saw the securitron and basically tore it apart."

Sunny Smiles nodded, "Yeah. That's right," she agreed. "When Jacqueline came back to town she had an odd hitch in her step. She treated us just fine though… Victor on the other hand, well, let's just says that she didn't take too kindly to it."

Boone never saw Jacqueline as a person willing to start fights. She must've suffered such guilt over the Hoover Dam and to tear apart one of Mr. House's securitrons just seemed very unlike her. It was two years ago though, surely she had calmed down since then. Still, it was something that Boone really didn't care to hear. He hoped that she had not lost any kind of touch with herself after the war between NCR and Legion. Grover could see that Boone was uncomfortable about that answer.

"Where did Benny try to bury her at?" asked Grover.

Trudy walked over to her bar, "At the Good Springs cemetery here," she came back around with a lit lantern, "There's a water tower right on top of it."

Boone thanked Trudy for the lantern, Grover and he walked out of the bar to explore the Good Springs cemetery. Sunny Smiles came with them to help find the path up to the graveyard. The walk up the hill wasn't much trouble, the only thing they had encountered were coyotes that only growled and never attacked them. The cemetery looked as though no one had touched. Boone remembered coming up here a couple of years, he also remembered seeing the hole that Jacqueline was buried in. The hole was covered up now and it even had a few stones around it, as if someone or something were actually buried there. Boone was uncomfortable looking at it.

Sunny Smiles stood beside Grover, looking at the grave, "Huh… Kinda morbid, isn't it?" She wasn't expecting a response, "Jacqueline came up here and covered the hole up. It seems like she put something in that there grave, but I can't remember now."

With that said, Boone didn't hesitate to start digging up the grave. Grover thought that the General was losing himself for a moment. He remembered seeing General Boone flying off the handle at little things, but that was so long ago. Boone calmed down so much since then. The stress had to have gotten to him tonight. Grover kneeled down beside Boone and helped him take out some of the dirt. Sunny Smiles crouched down beside them but quickly jumped back up to her feet when Boone took a head out of the grave.

"Oh, my word…" Sunny Smiles covered her mouth and nose with her palm.

Grover soon pulled out crimson colored cloth. Boone dropped the head back in the dirt; he glanced over to Grover as he was unraveling the cloth. Empty shells poured into Grover's hand. Boone took the cloth from Grover and one of the shells that had fallen on to the ground beside Grover. Boone stared at the cloth for a moment and ran his hand over it. There was something on it; he scrubbed harder to identify what exactly was there.

"That looks like a Legion symbol on it," said Sunny Smiles.

Boone gripped the cloth, "It is… It's a Legion scarf."

Grover looked at the head in the grave, "You think that's a Legion head in there?"

Boone nodded at the question. He stood and threw the scarf back into the grave. Sunny Smiles held the lantern to Boone as he began looking over the shell.

"I don't know what any of this means," Boone whispered.

Grover picked up the head from the grave, "General…" Grover set the head back into the grave. "This is a fresh kill."

Boone stood quickly as he took the rifle off his back. He scanned the area with his scope and began mumbling to himself, Grover couldn't make out the words clearly yet. It must have been a nervous tick that Boone developed over time. Through his scope, Boone could see Legion bodies lying on the ground, one was still moving. Without a word, Boone slid down the side of the hill. Sunny and Grover followed him the best they could. Boone could hear Grover calling his name but he didn't bother to look back. As they came on to the road, there used to be a small Legion party traveling through here. It had to have happened when Boone and Grover just got into the bar.

_Damn it, _thought Boone. The pain filled groans of the Legionnaire caught the General's attention. Boone stomped over to him and used his rifle to turn the Legionnaire on to his back. Only flesh wounds, Boone figured as he looked over the struggling man. The blood pouring from the legion's leg told Boone that there was still a bullet inside of him. Perfect, someone to get answers from. When Grover reached his general, Boone immediately ordered him to help carry the Legionnaire back to Doctor Mitchell's home. Sunny Smiles turned back around to wake Doctor Mitchell and to help him spread out his tools for operating; though Grover knew before anything was to be taken out of the Legionnaire, General Boone would do anything to get answers from someone in the legion. He's seen that happen to Legion before.

Carrying the Legionnaire back to Good Springs from the road was amusing to Boone and Grover. The man kept swearing and calling for help but the Legion party that he had been traveling with were either all dead or had taken off with injures. The second choice, Boone couldn't imagine the courier letting a Legionnaire go which made him wonder how this one managed to deceit Jacqueline. When Sunny Smiles had woken Doctor Mitchell she ran out of his home and to the bar. To learn that the Legion were so close to Good Springs shocked Trudy and Ringo, she hoped that it would be the only time that Legion would ever be this close to their small home in the Mojave. Outside, the people in the Prospector Saloon could hear the screaming Legion getting carried through town. Trudy stepped outside just catching a glimpse of Grover passing by the porch of the saloon. Trudy, Sunny Smiles and Ringo decided to follow them up to Doctor Mitchell's home. Doctor Mitchell remembered seeing General Boone two years ago with Jacqueline; he greeted him as they came in. Grover and Boone roughly dropped the Legionnaire on to the operating table.

"Doc Mitchell," Boone held his hand out to him, "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise, friend," he responded while taking General Boone's hand and shaking, "Sorry to hear about the disappearance of your friend. Hope you find her soon."

The Legionnaire was still screaming loudly as they exchanged words. Grover was restraining him on to the table and eventually tying his legs and arms down with the help of Sunny Smiles and Ringo. After being tied down the Legionnaire slowly calmed down, Grover pointed Sunny Smiles and Ringo to the door.

"The General isn't too kind about surviving Legion," said Grover, "You may want to step out of the door when he comes in." Grover heard General Boone call his name; he went into the other room with Doctor Mitchell and Boone.

"The doctor has a HAM radio," said Boone, "Get on it and call our guards. I want them to patrol this area."

"Yes sir." Grover walked over to Doctor Mitchell's desk and began calling into their First Recon unit. Over hearing Boone request this made Trudy feel at ease. Sunny Smiles and Ringo made their way back to the entrance of the home to the doctor where Trudy was standing. After a moment, General Boone walked out towards them, holding a hand out in defense to the women.

"Ladies, I'm gonna have to ask you to return to the saloon," he said. Though they looked offended he soon spoke again, "I wouldn't want any of you to hear anything this Legion has to say. Ringo, please stay here with us."

Ringo stepped into the home, Trudy and Sunny Smiles stepped further back on to the porch as General Boone closed the door. The Legionnaire stared at the ceiling, he wasn't sure what to expect and he still was not clear if that was the General of the NCR or not. He had distinguished the colors that were wrapped around Grover's neck, an AR, the Legionnaire remembered dealing and escaping from them in the past; though it didn't seem to him that he would be able to get away this time. The Son of Mars, Crixus, said to his Legion that any spilling of information would result in a crucifixion but at this point it looked like he was possibly facing torture then death afterwards anyway. The Legionnaire could hear mumbling in the other room, when the talking had stopped he began to feel nervous. Outside, Trudy and Sunny Smiles were just about to make their way back to the Prospector Saloon and then they noticed lights off in the distance. Sunny Smiles reached for a small pair of binoculars in her pocket and took a closer peek at the lights. The NCR First Recon was already on their way to Good Springs.

In the ruins of Tucson the surviving Legion were just coming into their fort. The Legate to Crixus, a small woman with brown wavy hair, a goddess among the field of men, Ilithyia just happened to be passing by, she noticed the Legionnaires carrying a woman in their arms. The woman was tied up and a bag was tied around her head. Ilithyia knew exactly who it was, she grinned wickedly at the thought of what Crixus would order his Legion to do to that foul being, Sin. She hurried towards the home of Crixus to tell him about Sin finally being at their fort. As the Legion came further into the town, the men turned and cheered seeing that Sin was finally captured. All this time of one woman attacking their raiding parties countless times were brought to an end. They couldn't wait to see that traitor hanged or something deliciously worse.

"Sir Crixus," Ilithyia came into Crixus' tent. A muscular man with numerous scars all across his body turned to Ilithyia. Even though she was the Legate to Crixus she still found the Son of Mars incredibly intimidating, "The party is back," Crixus knew it was good news. "They have that awful woman."

"About fucking time," Crixus curled his large hand into a fist; he could feel the victory pulsing through his veins, "Ready everything now. I want a ceremony right _now._" He roughly ordered to Ilithyia. The Legate hurried out of Crixus' tent and he could hear her announcing the capture of Sin. The Legion's cheer was so loud, Crixus smiled at the pleasing from them. Next, Ilithyia ordered everything to be placed for the execution of Sin.

It was not an hour later that everything started going, crimson warriors everywhere surrounding a bonfire in the center of their new fort. Two Legion warriors were holding on to and holding up Sin. The bag was still tied tightly over her head; they had no trouble with her struggling she had stopped resisting a long time ago anyway. Ilithyia came first out Crixus' tent and then came the Son of Mars. The Legion cheered at his appearance. He looked like one of the ancient gladiators that were dressed in armor of the enemies that he had faced in the arena long ago. Crixus raised his arms loving the attention he was getting from his army. Ilithyia had taken her seat next to Crixus' bone and leather throne a striking resemblance to Caesar's throne.

After the Legion warriors calmed, Crixus then spoke; "Tonight is a glorious night for us all!" His voice boomed through everyone. Ilithyia smiled deviously. "A disgrace to her father, a traitor to us all has finally been brought to us!" His arm extended to the Legion holding Sin up, "Sin Jacqueline Graham. Your execution will consist of what your dog father fell to. You will be burned alive." Crixus enjoyed saying this, "Bring her to me."

The Legion warriors dragged Sin over to Crixus. As they neared, Crixus grabbed Sin by her throat, forcing the warriors to release Sin. A reaction was finally released from the captive; she was gripping at Crixus' large arms while gasping for air. Crixus gripped tighter and placed a hand on top of the bag covering her face, he could feel the wetness of tears on the bag.

"Let's get a look at this foul coward before she dies." Crixus scowled. He ripped the bag off her face. Ilithyia placed her hands over her mouth and glanced at the warriors. The woman Crixus was holding in his large hands was not Sin at all but only a mere black haired woman walking the wasteland. Crixus stared at the woman for a moment and then glared at the soldiers that had brought the mistake into their fort. "This…" He dropped the woman; she was choking and gasping for air, "This is the _wrong_ woman…" The camp was silent. Crixus stormed over to the two Legion, they were both shaking in fear.

"_Why_ do I have the _wrong_ person?" Crixus spoke through gritted teeth. "Can you not tell a difference between red and _black_?"

One of the Legions that held Sin smattered in attempt to speak. Crixus grabbed the man's throat and tossed him in the roaring bonfire. That was one thing that Ilithyia knew that Crixus always hated; he hated seeing and hearing fear in this crimson warriors. The screams echoed through the camp and they soon had stopped; the remaining Legionnaire shivered at the thought of what may happen to him. The black haired woman stayed curled up tightly on the ground, praying that the Son of Mars would not turn his attention to her.

Crixus shook his head at the remaining one, "Crucify him." He turned back to his tent and stopped, "But let this be a lesson to you all. If you act _stupid _within my fortress, make me look like a fool… You will hang next to the traitor." He disappeared behind the curtain of his tent. Ilithyia quickly followed him into the tent. Crixus was sitting on this throne, leaning forward and a palm covering over his eyes. The Legate walked silently over to Crixus and placed a soft hand on his warm shoulder. Crixus acknowledged the hand and shrugged it off; embarrassment was the feeling that Ilithyia was getting from Crixus.

"My lord," Ilithyia kneeled down to him, resting her forearms on the top of his knee, "What of the captive?"

Crixus quickly stood making Ilithyia fall on to her rear; she could see his tongue rolling on the side of his mouth. He threw his arms out in frustration, "Take her and throw her into the Phoenix territory line." Crixus went further back in his tent and disappeared behind his throne.

Ilithyia scrambled to her feet and followed after him, "Releasing someone? I don't think that is wise, Cri-"

Crixus grabbed Ilithyia by her throat but he had not begun to squeeze yet, "Do not question me…" He pushed the Legate back by her throat. Ilithyia swallowed hard while resting a hand on her throat. Crixus stared at her then he saw her nod and excuses herself.

As Ilithyia came outside she could hear screams of the Legionnaire that was sentenced to a crucifixion and other of the crimson warriors were already back, tending to their duties around the fort. Ilithyia glanced at the wastelander lying on the ground who was shaking every once and a while. The Legate called for two Legions to help escort herself and the wastelander to the AR boarder. As they had made their way out of the camp, the Legion and the Legate were wrapped in black cloaks and a hood loosely covered over their hand and over their mouths. For the most part, the black haired wastelander was quiet. Why Crixus would ever order her to be sent back to Phoenix was a mystery to Ilithyia; she had always seen Crixus make simple mistakes like this one.

Ringo removed the rag from over the Legion's face and Grover stood back while holding a bucket of water in his hands. The Legion was going through a coughing fit while trying to regain his senses. General Boone had already taken off his shades from a long overdue frustration that the Legion was presenting; that just made Boone enjoy it a little more. He rested his palms against the table and stared down at the Legion who had finally gotten over coughing.

"I'm not gonna ask again…" the General growled, "Did your people capture the person that attacked you?" The Legionnaire spat at the General only to get an instant return of wet snuff from Boone on his face.

"Do it again," ordered Boone.

With that said, Ringo gripped the rag down over the Legionnaire's face.

"Wait, wait, wait!" screamed the Legionnaire.

Ringo lifted the rag. It took a long moment for Legionnaire to finally give in to General Boone's torture.

"We…" He coughed and leaned over the table, sitting at the ground, "We still don't know if it's Sin or not."

Boone grabbed the Legionnaire by his shoulder and forced him back to lay flat on the table, "Elaborate."

"The woman that's been attacking us has black hair-" he coughed violently, "She's accompanied by someone else."

Boone frowned at the information, "Who?"

"I don't know," the Legionnaire whined.

Boone snatched the patch that covered the Legionnaire's bullet wound, without hesitation; he stuck two fingers into the hole and pushed deep against the bullet within the leg. The Legionnaire screamed in violent pain. The General could see the cold sweat breaking out from the Legionnaire. Grover thought that his General was perhaps enjoying causing the pain to the Legion somewhat too much.

"It's a man!" yelled the Legionnaire.

Boone's face tightened in anger and he pushed against the bullet harder, not caring about the blood pouring out on to the floor. "I need more than that." Boone glanced at Ringo. Ringo walked over to the Legionnaire and covered his face again with the rag.

"It's an ex-Legion!" his yell was muffled through the rag. "Crixus ordered his tongue to be cut out for leaking information to the AR."

"Now what of Sin?" Boone questioned.

It didn't take long for him to answer, "She's disappeared." The Legionnaire was panting hard. Grover could see the disappointed look on General Boone's face but he clearly was not done yet.

"About the man," said Boone.

Before the General could continue the Legionnaire was already answering, "He was wounded in the battle, the woman told him to take off."

General Boone glanced at Grover, "Get some people on that road for tracking."

"Yes sir." Grover quickly disappeared out of the room.

Before Doctor Mitchell could enter the room where the Legionnaire was he heard the Legionnaire scream and then it was cut short from the sound of a gunshot. After a long silence, General Boone stepped out of the room; Doctor Mitchell stood a ways in front of him, watching Boone's movement quietly. Boone took a handkerchief from a pocket on his uniform and wiped away some of the blood spots on his face and then wiped his hands; he didn't appear to be too happy with anything at the time.

Boone gazed at Doctor Mitchell, "I'll have my men clean your room, sir…" he walked passed him and then out the door.

Ringo walked into the hall that Doctor Mitchell was standing in, he was uneasy about what had just happened to the Legionnaire. There were always stories about General Boone showing no mercy to the Legion and tonight proved that those stories were right about him. Maybe it made the both of them uneasy about killing a defenseless man or maybe it was the thought of the Legion being this close to their home. As Ringo made his way outside, he was immediately greeted by Sunny Smiles tight hug. Some of the NCR were standing around, guarding the area and they could see in the distance where General Boone, Grover and a few First Recon men were investigating the area where the Legion was attacked.


	2. And Live Forever In Silence

Chapter Two:

And Live Forever In Silence

Grover was hot on a trail to someone that was still alive from the battle. He had found some very odd clues, a lock of black hair from the person that persuaded the Legion head on, as well as plenty of empty shells and dead Legionnaires. Though only one Legion lied on the ground without a head, which was strange to both Grover and General Boone. A First Recon and General Boone kept an eye on the wastes with their scopes hoping that they would see a figure attempting to run. Grover already let them know that the person that had gotten away was limping and couldn't have gone very far at all. Along the way, General Boone found an old book lying on the ground; he was flipping through the pages carefully though none of the pages made sense to him at all.

"General," Grover kneeled to the ground, finding fresh blood, "What's in the book?"

General Boone closed the book, "A bunch of silliness if you ask me… Mostly says 'no' or 'not a good idea', nothing of real value in it." He glanced at Grover, "Find anything?"

"Yeah…" he responded, "Fresh blood…" Grover stood and looked back in the direction of Good Springs, "We came a long way from the road. Whoever it was that survived had a damn hard time…"

"Hard time with what?" questioned Boone.

Grover shrugged, "Crawling, General," the AR leaned against a nearby rock while using his forearm to wipe the sweat off his brow. "He's not in bad shape though… Maybe he was shocked."

General Boone looked at the lock of hair in his palm. Just as he was about to ask Grover another question, the First Recon soldier that was accompanying them gasped in surprise and jerked her rifle above the rock that Grover was resting against. Boone immediately raised his rifle as well, through his scope he saw a man, maybe Boone's age, sitting on the rock. The man held his hands up in surrender and spoke not a word.

Grover glanced up, "Yep. That's the one," it annoyed Boone so much that Grover was so calm in a surprising situation. Grover and Boone helped the man back into town, so far the man was proven to be quiet and it was for certain that it was the ex-Legion man that the Legionnaire had talked about earlier. The three sat at a table in the Prospector Saloon. Trudy, Sunny Smiles and Ringo were standing by the door to the room, watching the three until Boone had glared at them.

Boone sat the old book in front of the man, "I'm assuming this is yours."

The man took the book quickly seeming happy to see it; he nodded and smiled at Boone.

"Can you read lip or can you hear us?" Grover asked, Boone was almost embarrassed by his question but the man didn't seem to be offended by his question. The man simply pointed to his ear and nodded in response.

"Tell us your name," said Boone.

With that, the man quickly opened his book and took a pen from his pocket. He soon flipped the book around. _Septimus or Seven. You can call me Seven if it's easier. _

"Seven," Boone nodded, "Seven. Would you mind answering a few questions for us?"

_Not at all._

Boone held the lock of hair out to Seven, "We're looking for a woman. Jacqueline, she could be of great use to the NCR," Boone noticed Seven scribbling something down but he continued, "It's my understanding that she disappeared but hopefully maybe you know her."

Seven spun the book around to Boone, _I know Jacqueline. Yes, she has disappeared to the Legion. This means the Legion only knows her as Sin not as Jacqueline. She dyed her hair. _Seven pointed to the lock of hair in Boone's palm. _The Legion only knows her by her brilliant red hair. They don't know her by the black hair. They think that Sin is dead but they will not stop looking for her until they know for sure._

"Where is Jacqueline?" Boone was very anxious.

Seven swallowed hard and he scribbled again in the book. _The Legion caught her… But they may think she's the wrong one. I hope anyway and I'm sure you hope too. _Boone could feel his stomach knotting inside him. Grover placed a hand on his shoulder. Seven could see Boone worrying hard and he began to scribbling again. _Crixus is the new leader of the Legion. He was picked months after Jacqueline killed Caesar. However, Crixus is still a young man and he's been letting captives go if they are women and he even kills his own men._

"But he didn't kill you…" said Grover, "Why is that?"

_He tried to, _was the quick response that Grover had gotten from Seven, _I was found of spilling information and for that my tongue had gotten cut out and I was left in the middle of the Sonora Wasteland. How Jacqueline ever found me is a complete mystery. She says she has been in their new fortress countless times though._

Boone was leaning forward on the table, trying to regain his composure, "To who and why were you leaking information?"

_I was giving information to the Arizona Rangers. _Seven pointed to the colors that were wrapped around Grover's neck. _The caps were good… I wasn't about to let pay like that get away._

There was a silence between all three of them. After a moment, Seven hunched over and began scribbling hard into his book again. He then spun the book around again; _Jacqueline said that she was always hoping to return to the NCR. She's just scared. _

"She's probably dead now though…" said Boone with a shaky voice.

Seven quickly shook his head as he was scribbling in his book. _Nope. Not with Crixus as a leader. He's an idiot and not as ruthless as Caesar was. She's probably walking back to Good Springs now._

"What makes you think that?" asked Boone.

Seven pointed at himself. _You would be surprised at how many ex-Legions are out in the Sonora wasteland since Crixus has been ruling… And Jacqueline doesn't go down easy. She's either been let go or found a way out. _Boone laughed from reading Seven's response. That was how he has always known Jacqueline; spunky and helpful to strangers. Grover could see that Boone was more relaxed now and Seven glanced back and forth at Grover and Boone.

The doctor's rushed a stretcher down the dim hall. Jacqueline could hear mumbling all around her. It took forever for everything to finally become clear to her. The ceiling was old and cracked and she could feel the bumps along the hall on the stretcher that the doctor's were running her down. Air was being forced into her mouth and she then realized that there was an oxygen mask covering her mouth. There was no pain, at least not yet but she could feel the tightness that was once on her throat. Remembering the faces of Crixus and Ilithyia made her grin slyly to herself. It worked. How embarrassed Crixus must have been. Sin was gone and she had finally made her way to being only Jacqueline Graham. Amazing what a few simple appearance changes would do to fool someone but then again she was never really seen around what used to be Fortification Hill for anyone to remember her face very well.

There was a light weight lifted from her head. Jacqueline slowly looked to her side and saw that one of the doctors removed that old red beret from the top of her head. It was the first time that she had shown consciousness to everyone around her. The hat was already back in her hands and pressed firmly against her chest.

"Don't take that…" she said hoarsely and went into a coughing fit.

The stretcher made a wide turn and there she was in a dark room. The lights flicked on and Jacqueline saw that it was only a regular hospital room. God, this was going to cost a lot of caps when she could finally get out of here. The mask over her mouth was lifted and she could feel the tightness going away as she breathed without assistance. The sound of snipping scissors took a minute for her to realize what was going on. Jacqueline raised her head high enough for her to look down at herself. That damn Ilithyia must have ordered the Legion to throw her off a short side of a mesa or something. Her pants were being cut off and she could see the gashes on her upper high. There was the pain, burning as the doctors' poured cool purified water on to it.

A woman leaned over Jacqueline, "Ma'am, is there someone we can contact for you?"

Jacqueline was still out of it. She finally reached inside of her vest and pulled out a small wallet. There was contact information, the HAM radio station that could be contacted in Good Springs or somewhere close to it. The doctor gave the contact information a glance over and Jacqueline missed the expression on her face. This was her. Jacqueline Graham. The woman walked out of the room and two AR rangers approached her when she had waved them down. The AR rangers ran down the hall to the nearest radio and keyed in the station for the NCR headquarters.

"This is a message for the NCR from the Arizona Rangers. Please forward this message to President Kimball. Jacqueline Graham has been located and is staying in Luke Air Force Base hospital. She will not be released until further notice."

It was such a long night in Good Springs. The Prospector Saloon had finally closed for the evening but it would not have gotten much rest anyway since it was nearly dawn. Trudy, Sunny Smiles, Ringo and Doc Mitchell got what rest they could for the next day. The First Recon unit had already cleaned Doc Mitchell's room and disposed of the body where General Boone had interrogated the Legionary. Seven had not gone far from Good Springs at all; Boone could see him from the cemetery at the Good Springs water source. The General wasn't sure about what to think of that ex-Legion he almost felt like it rubbed him the wrong way. Not sure which way but he was mildly uncomfortable about it. Boone spat the rest of his chew tobacco out and turned quickly seeing Grover coming up the hill.

"You should be sleeping," Boone said coldly while wiping the corners of his mouth.

"Maybe later," Grover cleared his throat, he went and stood beside Boone and gazed over the side of the cemetery with arms folded across his chest, "We're very close, General," Grover glanced at Boone, "What will you do?"

Boone acted like he didn't understand Grover, "About what?"

Grover rolled his eyes, "C'mon."

Boone snorted, "You're in no position to ask me questions like that…"

Grover sighed and grinned devilishly, "Yeah, I guess. I should be asking Seven," he chuckled and started making his way back down the hill and Grover heard Boone catching himself in a growl at the comment. General Boone folded his arms above his stomach and faced his back to Grover. Grover stopped as he saw a First Recon running up the hill.

"Grover," said the First Recon soldier while panting, "Give this message to General Boone," he held the piece of paper out to Grover which he had taken. Grover ran back over towards General Boone who was turning to him with a bottle of open whiskey in his hands.

Boone frowned at Grover, "Back for more?"

"Urgent message," Grover held the piece of paper out to General Boone.

Boone sighed with annoyance; "Everything is urgent…" he took the paper and unfolded it. Grover could see that he froze, Boone crumbled up the paper after a minute, "There's a vertibird on its way." General Boone aimed his rifle down at the Good Springs water source and saw that Seven was already gone.

Grover tilted his head in confusion, "What? Why? Seven said that she would be coming back here," Grover spoke carefully, "If Jacqueline is still alive."

"She is alive; she's at a hospital in Luke Air Force Base."

There was a roar in the distance. What was that? Boone and Grover glanced around and the roar soon passed by them. Boone lifted his scope to look at the road. A pre-war motorcycle was just fading out into the distance heading to the south. The General quickly moved his scope towards the Good Springs water source and saw that Seven was no longer there.

Grover used his AR scarf to wipe the sweat off his brow, "How in the hell did he get a hold of something like that?"

It was hours until the vertibird had finally arrived. The First Recon stayed behind to protect Good Springs from any Legion that decided to patrol the area. When Boone had stepped into the vertibird there were two NCR rangers and one AR which Grover had taken his seat beside the AR. The AR handed Grover his uniform and Grover immediately began taking off his jacket to change into the uniform. General Boone thought that Grover was happy to see it or maybe happy to be heading back to the base where Grover probably spent most of his time until the NCR came along. The NCR greeted and saluted their General as he had taken the free seat beside them.

The vertibird ascended into the air and Grover was just finishing putting on his uniform when he had tightened the scarf around his neck. He and the other AR carried on a small conversation between themselves. Nothing very alerting going on in Arizona other than the Legion keeping mostly to themselves, which Boone was glad to hear. Boone began to feel queasy from the ride towards Arizona or maybe the nervousness of seeing Jacqueline again made him feel that way. Grover could see Boone's anxiousness; Boone looked at Grover and gave him a half smile.

"Hit the bar later, Grover?" The AR looked at Grover from the corner of his eye.

Grover grinned and high-fived the AR, "Maybe the underground one," the two AR's shared a laugh, "Drinks on me, yeah?" Boone could clearly see there that the AR was a more relaxed organization and he could see why Grover was not really serious all the time.

"I saw that they found Jacqueline," said the AR.

Grover nodded, "You saw her?"

That caught Boone's attention.

The AR nodded, "Yeah. Two years of looking."

"Wonder why now?" questioned Grover.

The AR shrugged, "She gave us contact information. I guess it was a slip up or something. I'd think being that long in hiding, why come up now?" They both sat there in silence and then shrugged at the same time.

"Is she ok?" Boone broke the silence.

The AR nodded to him, "Yes sir. She had some bruises on her neck and a burn on her leg," he thought for a moment, "But as far as I know there were no serious injuries."

Grover could see Boone letting out a sigh of relief; he motioned to Boone, "He used to travel with Jacqueline."

Boone suddenly felt shy as the whole vertibird cabin started to ask him tons of questions, "It's none of your concern, so stop asking me."

And that was the final statement made in the cabin.

The vertibird landed on top of the clearing on top of the hospital building. Luke Air Force Base seemed busy today with plenty of AR's patrolling the area as well as keeping the hospital heavily guarded. It had been a while since General Boone came to Phoenix, come to think of it, it was probably the first time he had met Grover with President Kimball. The propellers slowed and finally stopped and the cabin door opened. The two NCR stepped out first and then the two AR's followed behind them.

Grover turned back to General Boone, "Watch your step, General."

General Boone stepped on to the clearing; he inhaled deeply as he slipped on his favored beret, "Thank you, Grover."

The four escorted Boone into the hospital from the outside floor. The hospital was very dim but looked well put together. Boone admired that Phoenix was still able to be in great shape after the war and to have so many experienced doctors on the AR side would do the NCR good if they could get an agreement signed with the AR. However, that was the least of Boone's concerns at the moment. It had to have been two years since he had last seen Jacqueline. How much could have changed? And were the AR right about her appearance being a slip up? Hopefully that was not the case; Boone knew that Jacqueline would go back into hiding if that were so.

A doctor stood outside of the room they were heading to. The doctor spotted the squad and held his hand out to them, "No, no, no. She's still resting."

Grover pushed the doctor aside to let General Boone enter the room. The NCR and the AR stood against the door, guarding it. Boone could feel his stomach knotting as he stared at the partition that was all around the only bed in the room. There was no movement yet or any sound other than a heart rate monitor beeping regularly. Boone stepped behind the partition slowly and there she was. The same last name and the same features he had remembered about her. The General stood over and reached for her dark hair. His hand pushed her bangs away slowly and he saw the circular scar on her head. Jacqueline was still resting and had no reaction to the touch. Boone sat on the edge of her bed, not wanting to wake her yet.

"Everything alright, General?" called out Grover.

"Yeah…" he said faintly. Boone looked over and saw the old red beret he had given her. He smiled fondly at it and took it from the night stand beside the hospital bed. The sudden pace in the heart monitor caught Boone's attention. He glanced over and saw Jacqueline with her eyes open, but there was something wrong, her eyes were glazed and it was like she wasn't even there.

The doctor tried pushing his way through the guards at the door, "General! Take the I.V. out of her arm!"

Boone leaned over and snatched the tube out of Jacqueline's arm and applied pressure to her arm so no blood would leak out. "What the hell are you guys giving her?" Boone growled. There was no response from the doctor. Boone looked over his shoulder and saw that the doctor was gone. He cursed under his breath and released Jacqueline's arm when the monitor went back to its regular pace.

Grover was behind Boone looking at the bag that was feeding into Jacqueline, "Damn. That's pre-war stuff."

"What is it?"

"Morphine…" he said, "That stuff is so old. She might not wake up for a while."

"What is morphine used for?" questioned Boone.

"A number of things," explained Grover, "Pain relief, anxiety relief, you name it."

Jacqueline leaned over the other side of the bed and began vomiting. Grover made a disgusted face something that he really didn't care to hear.

"Morphine side effects can also cause vomiting," he added, "very gross."

As the day passed the General had yet to leave the room. The guards remained at the door and every once and a while Grover came in to check on Boone; the General had even given the doctors permission to come in for checkups. There was still no word from President Kimball. General Boone figured that the NCR were still working out the kinks and what future plans they would have for Jacqueline about the strip. Along with the quiet NCR, there were still no sightings of Legion coming out of Tucson. Night was coming around and Boone had fallen asleep in his chair. Grover pushed the partition back and his heart jumped when he saw Jacqueline aiming a hand gun at him.

"Name…" she said coldly.

Grover held up his hands the best he could since one was holding a cup of something warm, "I'm an AR. My name is Grover."

Jacqueline's arm dropped on to the bed still showing that she was completely out of it and getting over her sickness. She leaned up and coughed heavily. Grover put his knee on the bed and patted her back with his free hand. He held out the cup to Jacqueline.

"Drink this…" he said, "Just the broth. I brought it for the General. He's been in here all day." Jacqueline stared at Grover trying to determine whether she should trust him or not. She slowly took the cup from his hand and took small sips of the broth. Grover stood from the bed and sat quietly in a chair next to Boone. Jacqueline inhaled deeply from the taste of the broth. Grover could see that it had probably been quite some time since she had something real to eat that wasn't much irradiated. He glanced down at the gun she was holding and saw a religious picture of a woman along the handle.

Jacqueline caught him staring at it, "Don't even think about it," she coughed.

Grover shook his head, "I wasn't, just admiring," he whispered.

"When can I leave?" she questioned, "Where's Septimus?"

"Is that how you pronounce it? We saw him in Good Springs," Grover explained, "And I don't think you can leave yet."

Jacqueline sat a little straighter, "Well, I'm not gonna argue about not leaving yet."

Grover smiled at her, "It's an honor to finally meet you."

Jacqueline faced a palm out to him, "Stop. Just stop right there."

Grover looked at her curiously.

"I'm probably the most hated person in the world, and the NCR seems to think I can fix it," she shook her head. "All this time I've been trying to go around and correct mistakes with the people that have been struck the most."

Grover rubbed his hands together, "Ms. Graham, you didn't know… I heard everything on the holotapes that were on your pip-boy," he shrugged, "Mr. House fooled everyone in the NCR. If they AR would sign an agreement with the NCR, I think things would go much easier."

Jacqueline didn't have the strength to push her argument further. She looked at Boone and saw the beret he had given her in his hands. Jacqueline sighed heavily and smiled to herself, "You've been with him for a while, huh?"

Grover grinned, "He's a tight ass but a great person," he paused, "He's changed the NCR a lot from what I understand."

As the hours passed Grover and Jacqueline traded back and forth conversation. It surprised Grover seeing as how she had been friends with Boone before and Jacqueline was just as talkative as he was. It was the most conversation he's had since he has been traveling with General Boone is what Grover told Jacqueline. As dawn had come around, Grover had left the room to check on messages and to check on the guards. There was still no word from President Kimball which was odd to Jacqueline. Getting up from the bed proved to be defiance for her, she staggered and grabbed the pole that held the heart monitor. Annoyed by the beeping she ripped the plug from the wall and continued to hobble over to the window. Damn. That. Ilithyia. It was all she could think of as well as imagining the number of ways she could cause Ilithyia slow pain.

Jacqueline sat on the window seal and gazed over at Boone who was still sleeping. She grabbed her old clothes and began putting them on with a lot of difficulty. There were much more wounds on her body than she thought and everything was sore and painful to move. Jacqueline groaned in pain and even thought that she could feel a tear roll down her cheek as she struggled to pull her wastelander pants on. Jacqueline felt a sense of defeat when she collapsed on to the floor from all the pain she was getting.

"I'm gonna kill you," she hissed. Jacqueline lay on her stomach, shivering from the cold floor. She glanced over her shoulder as she felt strong warm hands grabbing her hips. It was Boone.

"I'm not going to look," he said. Jacqueline nodded to him and sighed heavily. The process of getting up was challenging. Boone saw plenty of bandages covering her back and he did the best he could to ignore her moans of pain. As they both stood together, Boone's hands hovered over Jacqueline's hips to help her keep balance and his eyes remained at the floor or at the bandage on her bare back. Without much warning, Jacqueline turned quickly to Boone and embraced him tightly. Boone sighed happily while carefully placing his hands against her back. It's been too long and there was so much he wanted to talk to her about though it would probably have to wait until later when things presented themselves from the NCR and the AR. Both enjoyed the moment greatly of being back together.


	3. The Crane

**Hello everyone!**

**Very sorry for not updating in quite a while! I have moved and am now settled into my new home. Your reviews have been much appreciated! Please keep R&Ring. This story is far from over. **

**-xWildfireKasukox**

Chapter Three:

The Crane

Within the ruins of Tucson or Two-Sun as some chose to pronounce it the Legion faced their own challenges. For reasons unknown some AR patrol had began to find their way through the ruins and stumbled across their fort though the patrol didn't last long it was still a concern to Crixus and, to a lesser extent, Ilithyia. Ilithyia seemed to have more on her mind than those silly patrols of the AR and she couldn't see how heavily that annoyed Crixus. The Son of Mars began to wonder about his choice in the Legate and he was possibly being laughed at by the Legion for taking a woman as his right hand. The women here were mostly slaves or wives that were sold to high ranked Veteran Legion. Crixus tried not to let Ilithyia's selfishness and less concern blind him but it was a losing battle.

Still recovering from his embarrassment of what was thought to be the imposter Sin, Crixus continued to talk among his men and help out around the fort. Ilithyia thought that he was foolish for working himself alongside those lesser warriors; spineless, so many of them were cast out by Crixus now. It was clear to Ilithyia that Crixus chose to let the castoffs live in hopes that they would return to the Legion and be treated as slaves or something worse. However, it disgusted her. She remembers Caesar's orders being very clear on killing some of his own men. Though Crixus tried to kill some he couldn't bring himself to do so. Ilithyia still tried to work her magic on Crixus to become a little more like Caesar but he was incredibly distracted by other matters that have recently came around the fort.

This night, Crixus ordered his Legion raid party to patrol the ruins of Tucson. Ilithyia joined Crixus at the side of his throne as he called order among the higher ranked Legion.

"As all of you know, the AR have been patrolling and our fort has been located by them," Crixus explained, "Though they were quickly taken care of, this may cause future concern for any other AR that may find their way here," he shrugged at the thought, "Or may even know where we are because of that patrol."

The area was silent until one Veteran decided to speak up, "With all due respect, Crixus," he spoke carefully, "That… woman you released."

Crixus scoffed at the very thought of her, "I doubt that such a terrified face would remember the location of this fort."

Ilithyia leaned down to him a little, "Crixus, what if she hasn't?" she tilted her head to him, "She could have very well remembered everything… the ruins of this place give Tucson away."

"_Enough," _he growled while wiping the sweat off his brow, "Worry yourselves over the AR. Not some little woman."

Another Veteran Legion raised a hand slowly before speaking, "Sir, also… I know that it was something that Caesar frowned upon…" he explained, "But battle enhancement drugs… Like Jet, Psycho, all these could be very useful for us in a fight. Maybe we could over look these natural land remedies?"

Ilithyia seemed annoyed by that subject. Crixus stroked his chin almost considering the idea of these drugs. He then shook his head, "The only reason as to why I decline this idea is because of these drugs becoming easily addicted to."

"But you could assign a special group to give us a certain amount of these drugs," said the Legionary.

"No," said Ilithyia, interrupting Crixus as he was about to speak, "What will happen then? The person that is assigned will most likely give over the order to recruit Legion for shiny denarius," she shook her head and glanced down at Crixus, "I do not think that this subject should come up again, Crixus."

Crixus could see the looks on his respected Legion's faces of Ilithyia over speaking the Son of Mars. He rolled his eyes, "Ilithyia," she turned to him with a white smile, "Get out." Crixus pointed over to the tent that they had shared. Ilithyia looked stunned from his sudden anger at her, "And don't fucking come back out for tonight."

Ilithyia, embarrassed by Crixus' outburst and possibly it was even more exaggerated in her mind, bowed shyly to Crixus and her surrounding Legionnaires and then quickly made her way to the tent. Pride was hurting heavily in her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she went to fall dramatically on their large bed. She cried silently and tried hard to keep her tears cleared away from her face. Raging thoughts of that oaf Crixus would not escape her mind no matter how hard she tried. Ilithyia thought of storming back out to yell at him but she had to remember that such behavior presented to Crixus would end in beheading.

Crixus rubbed his temples with a single large hand, "Apologizes," he said to his comrades.

"Crixus…" spoke one of the Legion, "A woman serving as a Legate may not be a wise choice either." The other Legionnaires attending the meeting could not believe one member had spoken up about that. They all stared quietly at the Veteran Legionary.

Crixus shrugged his shoulders, not giving the comment a thought at the moment, "Ilithyia means well," he frowned at the Legionary, "If you speak of my choice in Legate's again you will suffer slow torture… Is that understood?"

The Veteran Legionary nodded while swallowing hard.

Crixus stood from his throne and flicked both of his wrists, "Be gone," he watched the Legionnaires scatter out of the tent. Crixus glanced at the flap to his tent and nearly dreaded walking in there.

As Crixus pushed the flap out of the way to come in he saw Ilithyia sitting in front of a broken mirror as she brushed her brunette locks. He could tell that Ilithyia was furious. The stiffness in her upper lip and eye lids slanted. A definite woman's wrath he would be facing tonight though so far Crixus had survived all of Ilithyia's tongue lashings. Crixus walked over to their bed and sat at the edge, beginning to remove his clothing. When he leaned up from unlacing his boots, he saw Ilithyia glaring hard at him.

"How dare you embarrass me like that," she said firmly.

Crixus rolled his eyes and simply lay on the bed, "Let it all out," he said.

Ilithyia stood quickly, knocking over her chair. Crixus rested his hands on his chest, waiting for it to be over, "Do not treat me like that!"

"Like what?" He glanced at her, "A goddess? Have I not given you everything you've _ever _wanted?"

Ilithyia folded her arms tightly over her stomach, "Stop treating me like a child," her jaws tensed, she didn't like the feeling that Crixus was half way ignoring her, "You have no idea what I've been through to earn my place among these savage beasts!" She began counting on her fingers as she called it out, "I've been beaten, raped, my own father wouldn't even admit to everyone in Caesar's ruling that I was his daughter."

Crixus stared hard at her, "And if it were not for me, you'd still be treated like a slave." He then looked back the ceiling of their tent, "I think you like to forget that sometimes." Ilithyia sat on the edge of the bed sobbing into the back of her hand. Crixus placed a hand against her back.

"Is this still about Sin?" he questioned.

"Of course it is!" she yelled, "Another daughter to a Legate and she gets sent on missions for the Legion in California." Ilithyia leaned over and buried her face into Crixus' chest, "I'm a Legate daughter too…" she said through sobs, "Why did all of this happen to me?"

Crixus was used to Ilithyia's self-pity. He placed a hand against her shoulder, letting her sob. No words he could have said would console her. Crixus thought back to when he had first met Ilithyia, a petite slave girl among the Legion that followed Lanius around his camp like a lost puppy. The younger Legion men would pick at her, flipping her rags up and treating her roughly. Crixus never laid a hand on her no matter how many times Lanius offered Ilithyia to him as a wife or just an enjoyment for the evening and he refused the propose many times. Though Ilithyia still offered herself many times to him he still overlooked the idea. Crixus still had too much on his mind.

Grover had walked in on the moment that Boone and Jacqueline shared earlier this morning. It was comical to Grover but not so much to Boone. The tongue lashing from Boone was very worth it to Grover. He had never seen General Boone hug someone, come to think of it, seemed like Boone always took a scoot away if you stepped too close into his personal space. Jacqueline tried not to let Boone see that she was smiling from Grover's accidental walk in and that made Grover even crack up more. When Grover had finally dismissed himself from the room after regaining his breath, Boone stayed behind and helped Jacqueline with her shirt as well as helping her back to the bed. After that, Jacqueline had fallen asleep again and Boone continued to stay by her side. Later that evening, Jacqueline had woken and spotted Grover and Boone standing at the window. Grover could hear the popping from Jacqueline's bed. He glanced over his shoulder causing Boone to turn as well.

"Definitely a night traveler," Grover grinned and gazed back out of the window.

Jacqueline sat up the best she could, "Nothing from the President?"

Boone nodded at her, "He'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon," he continued, "President Kimball also said you're free to move around within the limits of Luke Air Force Base."

Jacqueline slowly stood from her bed, Grover smiled as he saw Boone nearly at her side to help Jacqueline get up.

"Let's go some place then," the courier smiled at her old friend, "Take me to a bar," Jacqueline looked over to Grover, "You too. Come with me."

Grover felt touched by her offer, he had not gone out into the base since he had gotten back. Boone and Jacqueline pulled their things together and waited for Grover by the door. The other guards that were once protecting people from getting by were relieved from their post. As the three made their way to the elevator Boone noticed that Grover seemed uneasy or maybe feeling like a third wheel.

"Know any good places, Grover?" questioned Boone while he lightly slapped Grover's shoulder to snap him out of his trance.

The three stepped into the elevator and Grover grinned, "Yeah. There's a nice place here called The Crane. I'd like to go there, if that's ok too…"

Jacqueline glanced at Grover, "More than welcome… I've only seen the outer edges of Luke Air Force Base," she sounded happy, "I'll be glad to see more." The elevator door closed when Boone hit a button to take them down.

Luke Air Force Base was surprisingly bigger than Jacqueline had imagined. Caravan, civilians and tons of AR walked along the streets of the base. Though some of the buildings were now rubble some still stood firmly enough to be housing for the AR's men and women in service to Arizona. There was a market and a mess hall where AR had taken care of less fortunate civilians outside of the walls of the base. Pieces of planes where piled a distance over the metal was probably used to build the walls around the base and no telling what the left over scrap metal was used for. Jacqueline was surprised to see a pre-war tank in nearly outstanding condition just sitting off the side of the road they were walking on. Grover had led them into The Crane, an Asian style hub, where AR and civilians liked to come for entertainment from the geisha like woman that danced on stage and dancing on stands in corners.

Grover noticed a woman fast approaching him out of the corner of his eye, he turned to Jacqueline and Boone, "You guys probably want some privacy, please go sit somewhere."

"_Grover!_" called a tiny voice that made Jacqueline and Boone flinch. Grover closed his eyes tightly and turned quickly to the small brown haired woman standing behind him, "I told you to let me know when you come back! I haven't seen you in six months and not a word! Not even a letter!"

Jacqueline snickered at Grover's cowering from the petite woman. Boone pulled Jacqueline a long and led her over by a table in a dark area of the room. The bar laughed at the woman who was ruthlessly chewing out Grover though Grover probably would have defended himself against the woman's yelling there was no way he could. Her words were too fast for anyone to keep up with.

Boone stared silently at Jacqueline and finally took off his shades, "You're better now… I hope." He placed his shades on the table.

Jacqueline gazed at him, "I know there's so much, Craig…" she sighed trying to find the right words, "I was scared."

"I know why you ran," he replied to her, "And all this time, you were in Good Springs," he frowned at her.

Jacqueline quickly shook her head, "No. I was everywhere… I was in Arizona, and Nevada trying to find a way to take things back from Mr. House."

Boone leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "Well, did you?"

"No…" her reply sounded heartbroken, "Not yet anyway."

Boone gazed at her silently, "The NCR made peace with the Brotherhood," that caught Jacqueline's attention, "We found another tribe of them right here in Arizona in a bunker. They were not in lockdown like the one those couple of years ago."

"You played those tapes for them then," she commented and Boone nodded.

"We have a treaty with them…" he inhaled and shivered at the thought, "However… The Boomers are hard to get in contact with."

Jacqueline nodded, "I still have the Boomer jumpsuit…"

"We'll discuss everything with President Kimball," Boone interrupted her. Jacqueline saw him reach into his jacket and pull a holotape out, "This is the tape you left for me," he placed it on the table.

Jacqueline suddenly felt hot from seeing the tape. Though she was hesitant at first she spoke shyly; "That was so hard for me," she bowed her head and placed her hand on the tape sliding it over to her so she could get a closer look, "I felt terrible for months."

Boone rested both of his forearms against the table, "Jacqueline," he sighed deeply, "Even though it's been two years… Nothing has changed." They both looked at each other, hopeful of what future might bring to them.

"Tell me everything," Jacqueline held the tape back out to Boone.

Boone stared at her curiously while taking the tape, "What do you mean?"

Jacqueline leaned forward on the table causing Boone to lean back in shyness, "Everything," she tilted her head, "You're a General now, I haven't been to Novac, what happened to everyone?"

The music flowing through the bar did not disturb their conversation at all. The two could hear each other just fine and Grover told the waitresses in the bar not to disturb the people sitting in the darker side of the room. Apparently, after the battle over Hoover Dam, Boone and President Kimball became close as friends after the First Recon soldier proved that Jacqueline Graham was a used tool to Robert House and that she could be a great asset to the NCR to regain control of the Hoover Dam and possible takeover of the New Vegas Strip. The NCR had also tried storming the old Fort where Caesar had an end to his reign and that is when the NCR discovered the AR. The AR controlled the room where long ago the courier had installed the platinum chip they also successfully held back many securitrons from getting into the Fort. Boone presented the idea to President Kimball to work with the AR but the AR are still undecided in joining the NCR's war with Mr. House as they had to worry with the Legion in the ruins of Tucson. Boone had presented many ideas to President Kimball and even helped with ideas to help with the finances of the NCR and that landed the First Recon a fast promotion to General of the NCR.

Jacqueline and Boone could remember where their paths had crossed in Novac. The courier, a wandering soul in the Mojave wasteland trying to find the person that shot her and the First Recon, a man who felt betrayed by many people in the town and who had lost his wife to Legion. _God damnit, don't sneak up on me like that_, was something Jacqueline could recall that Boone had said to her that night in the snipers nest. It turns out that Novac had become a target for the Legion. General Boone had taken his First Recon unit to Novac and fended off the Legion with the help of Manny Vargas and Ranger Andy. As far as Boone knows, Novac is still free from Legion and gets constant updates from Ranger Andy.

After a while of talking, Jacqueline had picked a closer seat to Boone. Each of them enjoying the company they had known from a couple of years ago. Boone couldn't help but think of the ex-legionary that he and Grover found just on the highway outside of Good Springs and it bothered him even more when Jacqueline had not said a word about Seven to him. There was a silence and Boone suddenly snapped out of his deep thought when he heard Jacqueline calling out to him.

"Boone…" she gazed at him, "What's the matter?"

Boone watched her for a moment and then shook his head, "Jacqueline…" he rested his palms against the table, "The legionary you're traveling with…"

Jacqueline tightly closed her eyes after Boone had said that. The silence was long and Boone could feel his throat going dry from the tension that was building up between them.

"I…" Boone finally spoke, "I don't agree with him…"

"I understand why you don't," Jacqueline said quickly, "But, Septimus prov-"

Boone growled in annoyance when she had called out the name, "You must be some kind of friend to him."

Jacqueline leaned back in her chair, "You have no right to say that…"

"I have _every_ right to say that."

"What about me then?" asked Jacqueline, "I'm an ex-Legion and a daughter to a Legate of Caesar at that. You have no idea what I was like before I got part of my brains blown out."

"You're different," he responded.

"How?" Jacqueline stood up from her chair, "Because I still can't remember, is that right? Like I'm born with a whole new life, is that it?"

Jacqueline and Boone stared at each other for the longest. Boone sighed and leaned back in his chair without saying another word to Jacqueline. She took offense to his gesture and stormed out of the bar. Grover had been watching the whole time and he had followed out fast after Jacqueline.

"Miss Graham!" Grover called out.

Jacqueline glanced over her shoulder when she felt Grover grab her arm.

"Miss Graham," Grover towered over her, "I'm afraid I can't let you leave my sight," Grover respectfully ignored the glaze in Jacqueline's eyes.

Jacqueline sighed heavily while wiping the glaze out of her eyes and then frowned at Grover, "Fine then…"

It surprised Grover that Jacqueline had no objection at all towards him following her around the base. The two strolled together through Luke Air Force Base keeping a nice slow pace towards the hospital. Grover checked over his shoulder every once and a while wondering if Boone was maybe following them. But there was nothing and Jacqueline had not once looked back. Grover could see that Jacqueline was completely upset… well, more like pissed, at the conversation that he had caught between the General and the courier. The way her arms were tightly folded above her stomach, the stiffness in her lips and her narrowed eyes spoke in more ways of anger to any man. Grover didn't know what to say until Jacqueline had broken the silence;

"Who was the girl in the bar?" her voice sounded stern and easy at the same time as if she were trying to hide the fact she was angry but miserably failed at it.

Grover smiled slyly at Jacqueline's query. The AR suddenly became shy when Jacqueline had looked at him. A little school boy with a crush is what Jacqueline was reminded of when she saw the blush and silly wide smile on Grover's face.

"Her name is Leila," he answered bashfully.

Jacqueline could feel her boiling anger cooling down, "A girlfriend?" she smiled softly.

Grover chuckled lightly, "It's…" he sighed heavily as he opened the door to the hospital for Jacqueline, "It's complicated."

Jacqueline only laughed at Grover's answer as she walked into the hospital. Grover escorted the Courier to the room where she had woken up in. There was nothing else to be said. Jacqueline stood by the window to wait for the sun to show signs of rising while Grover stood at the outside of the door, guarding. The hospital floor was quiet. It was almost deafening. Jacqueline could remember how strong silence was when she had left New Vegas two years ago. It was back again, the feeling of being alone; the thoughts running rapidly through her mind, her father; the Legion; her connection with the Legion that was cut loose by Benny's bullet. Jacqueline leaned her head against the window and used her palms to cover her ears. The voices were gathering again to remind her of what she might have been. Reminding her of what a stupid mistake she did.

_Clank._

The noise stopped the fast talking voices. Jacqueline peered out of the window in front of her and noticed dawn beginning to show. How long was she standing there with her hands covering her ears? She wasn't sure…

_Clank!_

Jacqueline watched the rock bounce off the window from the outside. She glanced over her shoulder seeing that Grover's back was still turned. Looking down, Jacqueline saw Septimus. A weight felt like it was being lifted off her chest. Septimus smiled widely at her, thankful that he had gotten her attention. The courier motioned for Septimus to come up and he soon disappeared from her sight.

"Miss Graham," called out Grover, "Everything alright?"

"Yes…" she responded coldly. Jacqueline walked over to the edge of her bed and sat down, "I have a visitor coming up."

Grover didn't think anything of her response. He figured she had probably meant the General was coming up or maybe the vertibird carrying President Kimball was coming.

General Boone was just rounding the corner to the hospital; he was holding a bouquet of desert flowers tightly in his hand. The cold sweat of guilt was getting to him. Saying those things to Jacqueline was not the best thing to say to her after all this time gone from not seeing her. It was best not to piss her off and just apologize before a friendship, and whatever more there could be, would be obliterated by a blind jealous rage. As Boone came through the door way of the hospital, he saw Septimus. The General's eyes couldn't help but narrow at the sight of the ex-Legion. Septimus turned his attention to Boone when the General cleared his throat loud enough. The ex-Legion was grateful to see Boone and even that made Boone's jealousy dig deeper into his skin.

Septimus held his book open to Boone, _Is she ok?_

Boone didn't even see Septimus write anything; he swallowed his anger and nodded to him, "I'm going upstairs now. President Kimball should be here any minute," General Boone passed Septimus, "You can follow me up there."


	4. The House Always Wins

_**First off, I have to thank everybody for their reviews and their PMs. Thank you SO much everybody. All of your reviews and your messages are so appreciated. I'm so sorry for lack updating, but this story has not been forgotten! It is a short chapter, considering the past chapters that I have done but Chapter 5 is already in the making. And soon, if you'd like to see, there will be art shown from this story. Your reviews are very welcomed! Also, you no longer have to be a member to comment on my fanfictions but I ask that you keep it clean. Don't be rude. Happy Fourth!**_

Chapter Four:

The House Always Wins

General Boone couldn't bring himself to step into the hospital room with Septimus; he instead stood out in the hall with Grover who tried desperately to encourage Boone to talk with Jacqueline. With every glance into the hospital room Septimus and Jacqueline were trading the same book back and forth after every couple of minutes. The anxiety was building up into Boone's chest and the feeling only knotted into his throat when the sound of the vertibird was nearing quickly to the hospital.

"General," Grover snapped Boone out of his over thinking, "You had either give the flowers to her now or go out to see Mr. Kimball."

General Boone closed his eyes tightly and drew his shades out while holding the flowers out to Grover, "Hold on to these," Grover took them, "If I don't get there now Kimball might think something is wrong." With that said General Boone nodded to Grover and walked away from him.

Grover shook his head at the decision but he stood at attention by the door and waited.

As Boone made his way down the hall he could only think of how much pleasure he would get from strangling Septimus. The General could feel his knuckles turning white from the thought of it. Torture against a Legion was an action that was never far from his mind but now was not the time for jealousy. The NCR would be closer to controlling the New Vegas strip with hopeful help from Jacqueline and the AR may finally combine with the NCR.

The General could hear the vertibirds propeller slowing down. He pushed the door open and forced himself out through the strong breeze that was being pushed in. President Kimball had just stepped off the plane and was surrounded by loyal NCR. Boone couldn't recall the last time he was face to face with Kimball but the friendship he had developed with Kimball had set Boone at ease about Septimus.

Boone stood at attention and saluted, "Glad you made it safely, sir."

"At ease," Kimball held his hand out to Boone, "I know a lot much be on your mind, friend but we have to act quickly."

Boone nodded whiling shaking Kimball's hand firmly, "Mr. Kimball, Jacqueline is well and conscience, there is also an ex-legion with her." Hearing this surprised Kimball, before he could ask; Boone was already leading Kimball and his guards through the hall. As Kimball passed the AR saluted their respects.

Septimus sat on the window ledge scribbling or sketching in his book. Jacqueline watched him silently from the middle of her bed. She knew if Septimus were drawing something she would never be able to see it. He was so shy. Jacqueline shifted her gazed to Grover who was still standing with his back against the opened door. Grover was still holding the desert flowers in his hand while the other rested at his side.

The footsteps pacing fast down the hall alerted Jacqueline that Kimball and Boone were nearly here. She looked back at Septimus as he had just closed his book and began straightening himself to sit up properly. Jacqueline pushed herself off the bed while putting her beret on.

"Good day, Mr. Kimball," said Grover as he nodded his head to Kimball and Boone.

"Come in, Grover," requested Kimball as he walked through the door of Jacqueline's room. The President took the flowers from Grover as he passed and walked to Jacqueline, "Miss Graham," he presented the flowers to her.

General Boone could feel his brow twitch with anger as Kimball gave the flowers to Jacqueline. Grover only gave Boone a quick look and then shut the door behind to leave the rest of the entourage in the hall.

"Thank you President Kimball," Jacqueline held the flowers with both hands, "It's good to see you doing well."

"I never thanked you for that day at the Hoover Dam," said Kimball, "I owe much to you Jacqueline."

Jacqueline nodded to Kimball, "Sir, if you don't mind, I would just like to get down to everything."

"Certainly," said Kimball.

Grover opened the door for a moment and brought in a suit case. He walked to Kimball's side and opened it, revealing Jacqueline's pip-boy, "This belongs to you," said Grover.

Jacqueline smiled at it and gently took it from the case.

"Jacqueline," said Kimball, "Mr. House is also looking for you. He's missing the key of his success. We're deeply sorry about everything that had to happen but as President of the NCR, I would still like to gain control of the New Vegas Strip."

Jacqueline listened to him while strapping the pip-boy on to her left arm.

"The profit that NCR would gain from the Strip would bring us more security to the people in California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. It's even possible that we could expand across the country. The NCR would benefit for keeping more weapons and ammo available to soldiers that are in need. Not to mention the civilians that would need help and protection."

"President Kimball, surely you know what would happen if you try to break war against Mr. House?" Jacqueline folded her arms above her stomach, she glanced at Boone, "Has the General never told you how advanced his securitrons are?" Jacqueline shook her head, "Mr. House has an army of them. Their armor is more stable than anything the NCR would be able to get hands on."

President Kimball nodded, "Jacqueline, we need contact from the Boomers. Their technology plus the help of the Brotherhood of Steel, we would have more of a chance at penetrating and possibly conquering. If you could get in touch with Boomers, then I don't see a reason why you shouldn't present yourself to the Head of the AR."

Jacqueline thought about the conversation. She bit the inside of her lip when she looked at Boone. He was hopeful. The courier was afraid that the NCR would be sacrificing lives over nothing, "Kimball, a lot of your men,"

"Soldiers are always prepared," interrupted Boone, "This day was coming, Jacqueline. Now we have to grab it."

Jacqueline frowned at the thought, "You realize that when I come back into the Lucky 38 that Mr. House will already know what's going on, don't you?"


	5. The Circle K

Chapter Five:

The Circle K

Regular legion groups were just returning to the ruins of Tucson. A decanus that had been travelling with one of the groups seemed eager. He had run past his allies and barely caught Crixus by his shoulder.

"My Lord, we received code that Jacqueline is on the move..."

Crixus turned to his decanus. The Son of Mars seemed to be in a fair mood today, "Heading where?"

"We believe to the Nellis Air Force Base…"

"Get a squad together, immediately." Crixus could feel trouble weigh down upon him as he thought about his next words carefully, "And take Ilithyia… I want a clear report of what is going on…"

The Decanus was surprised, he then slowly nodded to Crixus, "Very well, Lord."

**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Boone held his arms tightly around Jacqueline. He was skeptical at first of riding a pre war bike but heard many stories of wastelanders storing them. To get two working motorcycles amazed him and also made him very curious. Jacqueline briefly glanced over her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she spoke loud enough over the roar of the engine.

"Yeah!" he clenched tighter, "Do we have enough fuel?"

Jacqueline nodded, "Just enough to be outside of Boomer territory," the motorcycle jerked a little and she could feel Boone being uneasy behind her, "We'll wait for Septimus and Grover there."

The General couldn't tell if Jacqueline was still upset. At least she had made little conversation between them. Being this close to the Courier reminded him of everything; the way she carried herself, that lovely smell that was always with her. He really missed her beautiful red hair. Boone snapped out of his trance when the motorcycle started slowing down.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

Jacqueline planted her foot on the ground as they came to a stop, "We're nearly in Nevada," she cut off the engine, "I need to stretch my legs.

Boone stood from the bike and Jacqueline followed, "Maybe you could show me how to drive that?"

Jacqueline chuckled, "If you don't mind, I'd like to get to Nellis in one piece." She reached into the saddle pocket for water.

Boone could hear the sour tone in her voice, "Jacqueline…"

Jacqueline shook her head, "Shut up," she tossed him a bottle of water, "I know. I just over reacted."

"I did too," Boone slowly opened the bottle of water.

Jacqueline swallowed down her water and began making preparations again for riding, "We need to go."

After their stop, it was only a couple of hours before they had finally reached a ragged looking shack. The engine had just dried up and Boone helped Jacqueline push it near the door of the shack. General Boone lowered down the kick stand and rested against the seat on the motorcycle with his arms folded across his chest.

"God that was a long ride…" he yawned deeply.

Jacqueline shook her legs and walked over to the door, "I don't think I've ridden that far with a person on the back seat before," though the door itself looked like it couldn't take much pressure, she tried to knock as gently and loudly has she could. "Might take a minute for this guy to answer…"

"We're out of fuel though, right?"

Jacqueline turned to Boone, "Yeah but… this guy…" she snickered to herself, "You'll see what I mean." She knocked again, "Turn on the radio…"

General Boone raised a brow at her request. After a moment of fiddling around with the bike, he did manage to find where to turn on the radio, "I can't believe that still works."

_Has your life taken a turn? Do troubles beset you? Has fortune left you behind? If so, the Sierra Madre casino, in all its glory-_

Jacqueline looked baffled by the radio cast, "House open up a new casino?"

"We'll find out when we get there, I suppose…" Boone turned the radio back off.

By that time, Jacqueline and Boone could hear the rattling going on in the shack. It sounded like an old man with a strange accent that Boone has never heard before.

"_¿Quién es?" _said a raspy voice from the other side of the door.

"Raul, it's Jacqueline," she said."

The door flew open. Much to Boone's surprise it was a ghoul. The dirty jump suit on him was a little confusing. _Who is Miguel?_ Thought Boone while looking over Raul. Raul seemed pleasantly surprised; he had even hugged Jacqueline and shook her hand repeatedly.

"Dios mio, boss!" He said, "I haven't seen you around these parts in forever, I thought maybe those super mutants had gotten to you out in that crazy wasteland!"

Ghouls were always a sad sight to see for Boone. The slow aging and skin deteriorating right before one's eyes. General Boone wondered what kind of torturous hell Raul had gone through. The first impression upon Boone made him think that the Ghoul was feral. He always thought that way of Ghouls. Raul was clearly not like the mindless, starving zombies that he has encountered before. This one, this person, was down to earth and Jacqueline was not bothered by his appearance at all.

Jacqueline stepped to the side while releasing Raul's hand, "Raul, this is my friend, Craig Boone."

"_Aie! _General Boone of the NCR?" Without any warning, he grabbed Boone's hand and firmly shook, "What an honor, sir! What an honor to see you standing in front of my humble shack!"

Boone grinned, "Pleased to meet you, Raul."

Raul released his grip from Boone, he still had a surprised look on his face, "Wow, you've done so many wonders for the NCR," Raul walked over to the motorcycle, "Let me guess though…" he only glanced at the bike real fast while running his hand along the seat, "Out of gas?"

Jacqueline nodded to him, "There should be another empty tank here in..." she looked at her pip boy, "Oh… two, three hours."

"And Septimus is on it, right?"

"Right,"

Raul nodded slowly, "Well, he'll get here one way or another,"

General Boone folded his arms across his chest, "So… How… do we get the fuel?"

Raul chuckled and playfully slapped Jacqueline on her arm, "A curious one, isn't he boss?" Raul walked over to a large red circle, "Well you know when I built my shack here, I never really started cleaning some of the old junk around here…"

Raul pushed the circle between Boone and Jacqueline, "Until Jacqueline had gotten me away from that super mutant," he rolled his eyes while saying it, "Jackie, being as curious as you, found this."

Boone lightly tapped the circle with his boot, "Uh… what is it?"

"It's a sign from an old gas station."

Jacqueline kneeled down to it, "We found another part of the sign later on… I think it's called a Circle K," she shrugged.

Raul threw a rag over his shoulder, seeming proud of himself, "Circle K back in the day was a gas station before the bombs fell. Nobody discovered what was under all of this dirt that had built up over time," he gently stomped his foot down and the sound of metal rattled, "This is where the gas comes from… and it's still potent."

"Amazing," said Boone, "But how do you get it out?"

"We have to wait for Septimus," Raul chuckled, "He's the only one without a tongue."

As the time passed while they were waiting for Septimus and Grover to arrive, Raul and Boone sat together making small talk while Jacqueline was facing the direction to Boomer territory. The courier started to speak up but instead held her tongue while the other two were still talking. She wanted to continue forward and knew that she could make it across the clearing without risking a bombardment from the Boomers. Jacqueline felt antsy. The tingling in her arms and the faint pricks in her finger tips reminded her of the day she and Boone cleared the run with the bombs falling. The screams of the bombs were still clear to her hearing. Jacqueline shuddered and turned back to Boone and Raul.

"I think I should go ahead," she said firmly.

Boone gazed up at her, "I think you should probably wait."

Jacqueline shook her head, "I have the jacket, if I go now I can be done by the time Septimus gets here."

"The bikes probably don't need much repairing," said Raul, "the jacket is in my shack. Hurry on back though, in case something unexpected happens."

Jacqueline nodded. She was back out of Raul's shack in a flash with the Boomer jacket on. Boone was already up to his feet and by Jacqueline's side.

"Where do we need to go next after settling with the Boomers?" she asked.

"We need to find a radio and call in to get in touch with Kimball…"

Jacqueline stopped up the hill she could see the gates across the clearing "Are you coming with me?"

Boone nodded to her, "I'm not ever leaving your side ever again," he felt his cheeks turning hot and he tried to look away from Jacqueline.

"When we get a moment of rest, Craig…" she smiled, "We'll talk… without bringing up Septimus this time."


	6. Making a Move

_Sooooo sorry for a very big lack of updates. I've been going back to class! Will soon be taking art classes for Illustration and I'm currently working on some other projects to help support a local art gallery. I love you guys that have sent me messages about this story and have commented on it. This story is so far from over and has many more updates on the way! Thanks so much for everything guys, and I love your feedback!_

Chapter Six:

Making a Move

"Oh my god…" Raquel gritted her teeth together, her men not making a move to open the gates yet, "It's _you_," she said with much animosity in her tone. The young military was grinding her teeth in hatred that Jacqueline did not seem to be the slightest bit intimidated in Raquel's presence.

"Your precious _Mr. House_ has done not one damn thing for us," Raquel growled, "If I knew it was you, I would have released all of the hell we have to offer from behind these _gates_."

Boone could see the tiny bumps on Jacqueline's arms but she still stood firm with a hard look on her face. Jacqueline was making herself an emotional wall. He knew that she had to brace herself from these people, the people that Jacqueline thinks hate her and unfortunately, Raquel was being one of them. They both knew that Raquel did not like them as outsiders from before, but no telling what Mr. House has neglected them from now, or what troubles they may be having.

Jacqueline folded her arms above her stomach.

"Do you not have _anything _to say from your stupidity?" Raquel barked.

"I want to speak with Pearl,"

"I would sooner let in a legion before I let a waste of air like you in," she pushed her hands against the fence, trying harder to spook Jacqueline but she had never moved.

"Poking your chest out like some sniveling mole rat isn't going to make me move, Raquel," said Jacqueline. Before Raquel could retaliate anymore to her, the courier spoke again in a louder tone, "Let me see Pearl. _Now._"

Raquel narrowed her eyes at Jacqueline and nodded to her men to open the fence, "You will have to stay here-"

"I won't," the courier protested, "General Boone and I need to see her as soon as possible. We need to clean up this mess with Mr. House."

"A mess," Raquel snorted, "That is an understatement."

As the three walked towards the barracks together, Boone could see Jacqueline tensing up. Her arms were tight around her. Was she cold? The sniper couldn't tell. Jacqueline could feel like the eyes of the Boomers were staring at her. She felt embarrassed to show her face around them again. She felt that way when she first was discovered again. Running away was no longer an option anymore. The courier tried to tell herself that this feeling of anxiety would soon pass, but when would it actually pass? The breath in her lungs felt trapped within her. Reflecting back on everything, it made it too hard for her to breathe. She inhaled deeply again as they reached Pearl's door.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Cloaked figures watched Jacqueline and Boone enter into the barracks. The figures turned and hid themselves behind one of the barracks and began to undress. A decanus quickly found himself staring at Ilithyia's figure has she began putting on her Boomer attire. Ilithyia's glare found the Decanus. Her lips tightened as if she were flirting with him, but it was not truly so,

"If I find you leering as me again, I will order Crixus to lop off your penis," Ilithyia's lips tightened into a wicked grin, "Is that clear?" She began fixing her hair up and then began to mark her face.

The Decanus glanced away from her and swallowed hard, "Forgive me, mi'lady."

"Legate Ilithyia," called out the other Decanus, "When should we strike them?"

Ilithyia rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Stupid dogs," she snapped at them "You cannot attack this place in the day light."

The three began walking around Nellis Air Force base, attempting to blend in with others as they passed by.

"We will strike in the evening…"

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Jacqueline was not relieved to see Pearl in the state she was in. The age was starting to get to her, and the unforgiving heat was too much for Pearl. Even though Pearl was resting herself, Boone could tell that the Boomers were suffering badly from a loss of fresh water. The drought was a horrible one this time of year. There was nothing the NCR could do for the Boomers unless Jacqueline could convince Pearl again that the NCR would benefit for them better than what Mr. House would have to offer.

"She has been asleep for a long time," said Raquel, "I can offer you two barracks for the night, but it would cost you of course."

"For the Boomers, I would give anything," Said Jacqueline as she brushed her hand against Pearl's. She sighed, "Tell me what your tribe needs, Raquel.

Raquel was surprised that Jacqueline was so concerned, "Our water rationings," her voice was somber, and "we can't keep everyone hydrated."

"I can call in for a truck delivery," said Boone, "President Kimball would be glad to give you Boomers water."

Raquel shook her head, "Even though that is a good idea, Pearl needs to clear it," she bit her bottom lip, "I don't have enough authority to give a clearing like that, General."

Jacqueline placed both hands on the back of her own hips, "Will she be awake in the morning?"

Raquel nodded. Jacqueline placed a bag of caps on a nearby desk as her and Boone exited Pearl's barracks.

"Boone, I'm not comfortable walking around here," said Jacqueline as her eyes automatically fell to the ground to avoid eye contact with other Boomers, "I just want to go to our barracks."

"That's fine, Jacqueline," he said. As they approached the barracks Boone had opened the door and let Jacqueline in first. The courier quickly found her way to one of the single bunks and sat. She was breathing heavily while running her hands through her hair.

"I'm sorry," she said loud enough for Boone to hear, "It's just weird to come back here."

Boone closed the door and walked over to an empty bunk beside Jacqueline's, "You don't need to explain anything to me…"

Jacqueline inhaled deeply, her skin was glistening from a nervous sweat, "you really think President Kimball will send these people water?"

"Of course I do," he replied with confidence while taking off his boots. Boone shifted his weight on the bed and had stretched across it. He felt the tension in his back relaxing and just then Boone tried to remember when the last time he had laid across a bed. He rested his hands on his chest and looked over to Jacqueline who was rummaging around the barracks. The General was impressed that he didn't even hear her stand up. Jacqueline, as far as he could remember, was always light footed and could nearly sneak up on anything.

"Whiskey," Jacqueline leaned up with a full bottle, "_cram_," she said with an obvious disgust, "potato crisps."

Boone took out a small tin can in his pocket, while watching Jacqueline. He found himself examining her features and being drawn to her. Boone hadn't been alone with the courier like this since before battling at the Hoover Dam. He inhaled deeply to control his feelings and tightness that was occurring in his stomach.

"Jacqueline," he spoke hoarsely, "after we've had something to eat, I do want to talk with you."

Jacqueline walked over to his bed side and sat on the floor, "I know," she responded.

Boone was about to take in a pinch of chewing tobacco but he put it away once Jacqueline offered some food to him. He remembered sitting on the floor like this with her in the Lucky 28. Even though they had beds, it was just a habit that had never gone away. Boone sat in front of her on the floor and opened the bottle of whiskey.

"I hope you don't mind drinking after me," he said with sarcasm and a smirk.

Jacqueline smiled shyly in reply to the General. They were both unusually quiet or at least Boone thought that the conversation would have been an endless fountain of words but it was disappointingly not the case. Jacqueline was on edge the entire time. Every light noise, Boone could almost see her jumping out of her skin.

Jacqueline quickly glanced over her shoulder, "I swear something is wrong…"

"I think it's just in your head," Boone said quickly. He opened the bottle of whiskey and held it out to her, "This'll help."

Jacqueline slowly took the bottle of whiskey and stared at it before taking a swig. The taste made her shudder and she handed it back to Boone then adjusted so that she sat right next to him, "I think it will do the trick," she grinned.

Boone leaned over to the end table behind them and brought a lantern down, "You'll be fine, Jacqueline…" he reassured and then took a swallow of the whiskey.

Jacqueline felt comfort in his words; she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, "You wanted to talk to me?"

Boone felt a lump in his throat, "You know… After all that time away from you," he thought for a moment, "The times with you. How you helped me get over… Carla. I think… I know you've made me a better person." To calm himself, Boone took out his tin of snuff again but this time he took in a piece to chew.

Jacqueline watched him and was not repulsed by the snuff like other women may have been, "That time, two years ago…" she bit her lip, feeling shy, "did you mean to kiss me? Or were you just too drunk?"

Boone chuckled. He grabbed an empty bottle and spat in it, "I meant to."

Jacqueline made a face at the spit but let it go from saying anything about it, "Would you sleep with me tonight?"

Boone hacked suddenly, startled by her question.

"No! I mean," Jacqueline worked through her laugh, "I mean… You know what I mean!" she snapped.

"Oh!" Boone laughed and held the whiskey to her, "Let's see where this takes us first?"

Jacqueline took the whiskey. They had carried on until it was dark enough to light the lantern. Boone had found playing cards to keep themselves entertained. Blackjack was always their game, ever since they had a home in the Lucky 38. As the time passed, Boone's empty bottle was now half full of snuff and the whiskey bottle was now empty but accompanied by another full bottle.

"And that's how I dyed my hair black," Jacqueline said, while chuckling.

"All those bullets for a pre-war hair dye treatment?" Boone shook his head while laying down a card, "I'm surprised Septimus didn't lend you a hand."

Jacqueline rolled her eyes, "Septimus," she thought about him for a moment, "You know I'd bet he'd be as bad as Grover if he still had a tongue." Jacqueline stood up the best she could and walked over to a shelf full of food. She stretched her legs and then would have tossed Boone a bag of potato crisps but to her surprise, he was towering over her.

"Craig?" She gazed up at him.

Though he was shy, Boone took initiative to lean down to kiss her. Jacqueline allowed him. The courier suddenly felt small against Boone's body; his arms found the way to her back and pushed against her. Their kiss released and their foreheads touched.

"I've waited forever to feel you like this again…" he whispered.

Jacqueline could feel her cheeks turning red, "…I've waited too," she leaned back, removing his shades and beret.

With that said, Boone effortlessly lifted her off the floor and pressed his lips against hers, giving in to the desire that filled both of them. Feeling her feet on ground again, she felt Boone's hands wander behind her leather and she began helping him take off her leather armor. Boone leaned in, grinning with success after hearing Jacqueline gasp from kissing the sensitive side of her neck. Jacqueline ran her hands against his clothed chest to begin unbuttoning his decorated military jacket.

"You smell so good, Jacqueline…" Boone took a pin out of Jacqueline's hair once her leather armor hit the floor, he almost cringed that she had an under shirt on but it was just more excitement adding on for him. His hands slid under her shirt and his touch, kneading against her breast made her sigh in bliss. Boone kissed along her jaw line.

Jacqueline slowly opened her eyes, letting Boone touch her in anyway. She flinched at a sudden clash at the entrance of the barracks but over looked it for Boone's intimate attention to her. The courier glanced over and saw Ilithyia on the other side of the bunks. She inhaled sharply and narrowed her eyes at the sight of the female Legate. Boone quickly caught on that something was wrong, he glanced at the other side and saw the other decanus' causing him to draw his rifle on the top bunk. Ilithyia dived between the two, slashing a knife at Jacqueline. Though the courier was agile, she was not quick enough to dodge a slash across her chest.

The courier wasn't sure; the quick pain of the knife blocked her hearing. She thought she heard Boone firing his rifle but everything was happening too fast. Jacqueline kicked back Ilithyia and drew her favored hand gun that she had taken from Benny. Boone had taken cover behind an end table, he was proud for a moment that he had gotten one of the decanus on the first shot. The other was hiding behind a faint partition in the barracks. The General glanced at Jacqueline and Ilithyia who were both still toe to toe.

"I knew Crixus made a stupid move in releasing you," Ilithyia growled at Jacqueline, "I _knew_ it was you."

Without hesitation, Jacqueline aimed the Maria and the bullet found its way through Ilithyia's hand, making her drop her knife. Ilithyia yelled out in pain but surprisingly she had lunged at Jacqueline with a gloved hand. Jacqueline had seen those gloves before she remembered seeing Caesar wear it. The courier quickly ducked and heard the charge of shotgun shells going off through the wall. Taking the chance, Jacqueline reached back and Ilithyia felt a bullet grazing her gloved hand. The second charge from Boone's rifle distracted Ilithyia. The legate glanced over and saw both of her attendants bleeding out on the floor.

Jacqueline grabbed the can of snuff and threw it in Ilithyia's face, causing her to stumble back.

"You gross, bitch!" Ilithyia was disgusted, feeling the sticky tar run down her chin and it being caked all over the front of her neck. She would have wiped the snuff away from her eyes but she felt Jacqueline's power forcing her to the floor.

"Let this be a lesson to you and your stupid failing Legion!" Jacqueline's hands found her way to Ilithyia's throat and she began squeezing as hard as she could. Ilithyia struggled hard but before Boone could react or even help, the Legate drew back her arm and grazed a charged by Jacqueline's arm. As the courier hollered in pain, Boone chased Ilithyia out of the barracks, trying to stop her. The legate disappeared behind a barrack and Boone only saw fading foot prints and a faint trail of blood.


End file.
